Is the Z70VA barebone priced correctly?

I feel that the resellers are doing a great job of selling the barebone but at a higher markup price. Please convince me otherwise.

Consider Lenovo/IBM: It seems that one can buy a T43 barebone with a PM2.0 Ghz CPU/3yr worldwide/SXGA+ for $700-900 based on whether you get EPP or EDU discounts. And lots of enthusaists buy these barebones. Check ARS forums for more proof Search for thinkpad CTO.

If the Z70VA wants to make a dent in someone's market, they (resellers) need to put a lower tag. A Z70VA with a 2G proc would be 1200ish. Let us subtract 120 as IBM barebones dont come with a battery. Even then its still 1080 ....

Of course the Z70VA has a X700 and a WXGA+ but the T43 has worldwide 3yr warranty, better reliability and brand value which should at least compensate for the extra graphics features of the Asus.

Also consider Dell 6000 with discrete graphics: ..... Of course for a gamer the Asus is cheaper than a XPS. If thats the only market the resellers wanna target, I need to shut up

 

They're two different laptops, one is geared for business/school, the other for recreational/school.

The i6000d only comes with x300 which is fairly weak compared to the z70va.

The resellers aren't making much - the prices are quite low, I mean, where else do you see such a laptop with such specs at such a price?

Also, the reliability and brand value of ASUS is there - but people don't realize it, they don't know that ASUS makes Apple PowerBooks, SONY VAIO's, etc.

 

Well even if you consider the price of a PM 2G barebone from Lenovo, its still less than 1100 with 3yr/SXGA+ and it includes the processor. Thus a name brand like Lenovo with 3yr worldwide warranty costs exactly the same as the Asus!!! And many people find ways to get 20-35% discounts Now, can you get any discounts from any of the resellers without compromising on anything else?

 

True, but the z70va has already been selling like hotcakes

I guess the resellers don't want to make a loss at the end, can't really say much about that.....unless the x700 mobile GPU is about $500 each or something hah. So....uhhh...blame ASUS?

 

Yes I am sure its selling well due to the X700. And the reviews are impressive. But when you consider warranty issues (which are more important on a laptop), things look expensive. I guess once there are more people buying and selling barebones, the pricing will be better.

Nevertheless, the price is ok (especially for loaded models) if you cant get any discounts on other brands like Lenovo/HP/Dell.

 

i bought my z70va for $950 CAN (that's $807 USD) and the z71v is about $100-$150 cheaper... so i don't know what the problem is. The 6600 ($150 for the desktop version) and x700 isn't free you know (while a warranty technically is ;-) ). And I'm not talking eBay either. I bought mine at a store. I also find your statement of less reliability erroneous. I have NEVER had a problem with any of my Asus products.

 

Except for the fact that they didn't come with traveler's drawers...LOL... I'll always bring this up whenever we talk about Asus.

On a side note...I'm still surprised that you bought the Z70Va even after you just recently bought the Z71v! Where did you buy it, btw? Seems like a good price.

 

Thanks for the comments

Few clarifications:

* In the US, a Z70VA is $850ish + 320ish for a 2G proc = $1200. I think someone is making a lot of profit.

* Warranty may seem to be free for the manufacturer but not for the end user. Someone needs to pay the folks who respond to the IBM tech support calls in USA, you know. Its not outsourced! Also, you probably havent had the bad luck of spending 300-400 USD on trivial things such as the power supply jack!

* Sure the X700 is expensive ($90 for a desktop version) but so are many other things eg slimer and lighter chasis etc. Please note that manufacturing makes up for a small fraction of the costs. The largest amounts go to the marketing, middlemen, R&D, services etc ....

Funny I didnt hear from any of the resellers as yet. Please note that I am in favor of companies like Asus flooding the market with near thinkpad quality thin and light notebooks at a low price. In fact if that happens, I would rather buy an Asus barebone. But we are still not there.

 

I never called IBM support but i ll go out on a limb and say they fall in the same category as dell when it comes to support. Given that and whay i know i rather buy an asus from a reputable dealer with a 1 year warranty then ibm from ibm with their 3 year warranty which is not worth the paper its printed on. Convince me that ibm home support is any better then crap. Convince me that any tech there even ever touched one of those notebooks. You are comparing apples to oranges. Have you ever even touched an asus notebook? I find it strange you think ibm makes a better notebook. My father has the t43 and before that he had some other ibm. They are expensive and i think overpriced for the specs. They have a solid build and look better then most of the name brands. I dont think they even touch asus. They dont even fall into the same catogory if you compare to asus ensemble. The z70va whitebook is about 900$ with bluetooth. Where are you getting your prices from? I may be a little biased but i am not only a seller i am also a client

 

buying it from computraksystem (the guy's name is raymond) in richmond. my new baby will have 2gb of ram, it'll be sweet. the reason i've decided to switch is carbon fiber, i like the black look better (and design, although my bro liked the z71v better), longer battery life, IT BETTER HAVE A BETTER SCREEN (one of the modivators), cooler GPU (due to a better cooling solution) with slightly faster performance in most applications. The only thing i don't like about the z70va is the stupid hump... I HATE THE HUMP. I wish i could rip out the two speakers in the screen and then replace the back of the screen with maybe a magnesium alloy cover (like my m3np was, although the paint on it made finger prints noticable unless you let it get marred in them, then you wouldn't notice it, haha). Another downside is I've heard the z70va has only a single IDE channel (unlike the 2 seperate channels of the z71v and it's SATA support, though not native) which can be a prob for highspeed burners, but since i will be using the travelors drawer (thank you asus) this isn't a problem for me (i have a cool aluminum enclosure for my lg 4183b drive which is far better than any laptop optical drive).

 

I have had 1st hand experience of IBM support. Once I was on a India trip and my notebook showed a POST message due to a loose CPU fan. Took it to a nearby Lenovo center, and got it back with the fix 3 hrs after! Thats international warranty for you! I complained that my battery wasnt charging up well. I got a replacement battery in 2 days. So I feel good about IBM service. In fact I even bought 2 extra yrs of support for my 3 yr old X22.

I am sure Asus makes solid systems. I have never seen one in action. Hence all these doubts! Is there a shop in LA where I can go and play with these puppies?

For prices, I get from geared2play A z70VA + PM 2G is 1183. My IBM prices are from EDU discount pages and my friends EPP site. Without any discount, I would buy a Z70VA ... no qns asked! I have no experience of Asus and as a potential customer I am asking the usual questions

PS: In another thread, people claim that Asus is well built but not as well built as T42/43.

 

There's Mwave in City of Commerce, and PCBuzz in Torrance. There's a few others too, but dont have time at the moment to look it all up. There's also GenTech, RJTech, ABS PC, TopMicro and Notebookshop.com.

I'm a fellow Angeleno- I also bought from Geared2play.com. Much better pricing and I'd rather pay for shipping than the CA tax on a $1500-$2000 system any day.

 

I was refering to phone support. Out of the milions of people who buy ibm how many live next to a service center? I mean its expected that if you carry in a notebook with something simple it will be fixed the same day. I mean what is their support like? I dunno so ill have to assume they are the same as all the rest